Automatic fire-lighting device



(No Model.) ZSheets -Sheet 1. C UMSTED AUTOMATIC FIRE LIGHTING DEVICE.

Patentedpct. 1

ior 317mm NITED ST TEs CLIFTON T. UMSTED, or roar soorr, KANSAS.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-LIGHTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,233, dated October1, 1895.

Application filed Apm'l 5, 1895. $erial No. 544,582. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLIFTON T. UMSTED, of Fort Scott, Bourbon county,Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticFire-Lighting Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to automatic fire-lighting devices.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a comparatively simpleand inexpensive device which can be set and relied upon for automaticoperation at any hour required, and also for notifying thehouse-occupants of such hour, if desired, by an audible signal.

The invention consists, essentially, in the combination, with a clock ordevice which will operate a shaft at any predetermined hourfor which itis set and a locking-shaft connected with said clock or device, of aslidable friction-surface connected with a spring or equivalent, and amatch carrier for holding a match into frictional contact with saidfriction surface, so that when the locking-shaft is thrown out of thepath of said slidable friction-surface by means of the clock or otherdevice for the purpose said friction-surface will slide and therebyignite said match.

The invention further consists in certain novel and peculiar features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter describedand claimed. 1

In order that the invention may be fully understood, I will proceed todescribe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 represents a perspective view of an automatic fire-lighterembodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a vertical crosssection takenon the line's: 0c of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents the device as viewed fromthe front end, certain parts being omitted to more clearly disclose theconstruction and operation of the remaining parts. Fig. 4 represents avertical longitudinal section of a part of the front end of the device.Fig. 5 is a perspective view, enlarged, of the sliding frame providedwith a friction-surface. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion ofthe rear end of the device.

In the said drawings, 1 designates the base of the device, which issupported in a horizontal plane a suitable distance above any platformupon which it may rest by depending flanges 2, said flanges being formedpreferably by bending the base, which is of sheetmetal, on linesparallel to its side margins. At its rear end said base is stampedupwardly to form thelaterally'disposed hook 3, and near its oppositemargin is stamped to form the bifurcated hook 4, which is disposed inthe same direction as the hook 3. At its front end the base 1 isdiminished in width, and at the opposite side margins of said diminishedportion are formed the upwardly-projecting parallel side walls 5, whichnear their rear ends are provided with the oppositely-disposed verticalslots 6. About in line with the longitudinal center of the base andnearer its rear end are formed the upwardly-projecting parallel ears 7,and rearward of said parallel ears the transversely-extending ear 8.

Arranged longitudinally of the base and journaled thereon in staples oreyes 9 is the shaft 10, which extends between the ears 7, and isprovided at its rear end with a crank arm 11, contiguous to the ear 8,so that said shaft cannot have longitudinal motion upon the base, and atits opposite or front end with a short crank-arm 11, which is disposedat an angle of about ninety degrees to the arm 1]., and projectsvertically upward when said arm 11 occupies a horizontal position, asshown clearly in Fig. 1. Said arm 11 is pivotally connected to one endof a plate 12, pivotally connected in turn at 13 to a plate 14. Saidplates 12 and 14 extend transversely of the face or at right angles tothe ro'ckshaft 10, and said plate 14 is pivotally mounted at 15 upon theear or lug 16, stamped vertically upward from the base. The plate 12 atthe opposite end from its point of connection with the arm 11 is notchedto form a downwardly-disposed shoulder 17, and the notched portion ofsaid plate below said shoulder registers with the approximately V-shapednotch 18 in the contiguous end of the plate 14, and

said plate 14 is also provided with a laterallyextending thumb-pieceorhandle 19. Coiled around the r'ock-shaft'lO, contiguouslto thecrank-arm 11, is a spring 20. One end of said spring extends laterallyand is booked through an opening in the base, as shown at 21, while theother end 22 is bent to engage and exert a constant and continuousupward pressure against the said crank-arm 11, the object of which willbe hereinafter explained. Contiguous to the pivoted plates 12 and 14 analarm-clock 23 or equivalent mechanism, which can be set for automaticoperation at any predetermined time, is mounted upon the base, one ofthe front diverging legs of said clock being engaged by the loop 24,which is adjacent but is oppositely disposed to the hook 3 of the spring25, which is secured, as shown, or in any other suitable manner, uponthe base, and exerts a pressure corresponding in direction to thedisposition of said loop 24. To prevent any upwardmovement of saidspring or any accidental disconnection with the leg of the clock and thehook 3, it is formed with a downwardly-disposed hook 26 at its free end,which is engaged by said hook 3. The opposite front leg of the clock isheld by the action of the spring 25 firmly in the bifurcation of thehook 4. By this arrangement it will be apparent, with propermanipulation, that the clock, while held from accidental displacement,may be easily and quickly disconnected from the base and used whererequired. This alarm-clock is of the ordinary or any preferredconstruction, being provided with the usual arbor 27 for winding thespring which controls the alarm mechanism and with the customary devicesor mechanism for setting the clock for automatic action at any hourrequired. As the majority of people wish to obtain as much sleep aspossible, the bell upon said clock may be dis.- pensed with or theclapper-arm bent, so that the alarm shall not be sounded when the arbor27 begins to rotate. Said arbor is connected by a cord 28, and the hook29 with the downwardly-disposed shoulder 17 of the plate 12. It will benoted here that as the shaft and the pivot 13 of the plate 12 are out ofalignment it will be impossible for the spring actuating the crank-arm,of the said shaft to move said plates from the relative position shownin full lines in the drawings, so that it is necessary in order topermit said spring-actuated shaft to operate to cause the relativepositions of said shaft 10 and said pivot 13 to change, and this isaccomplished by means of the connection between said plates and saidarbor 27, as will be hereinafter more particularly explained.

Except when the clock and the contiguous mechanism is being set foroperation it may be covered, and preferably is, by a hood, which is openat its front side to expose the face of the clock, and at one side so asto fit snugly around the clock and at the same time to permit of pivotaloperation, as will be at 34, in its lower margin to fit snugly over thespring and the spring 25, and yet not interfere with the operation ofthe shaft 10 and of the contiguous mechanism.

designates an elongated rectangular frame, which is preferably in theform of a top, depending sides or runners 36, and the depending arm orshoulder 55 at the front end of the top. At suitable points metal isstamped out from the depending sides or runners, and is bent back tooverlap the body portion and the interposed friction-surface 38, ofsandpaper or equivalent material, as shown at 37. At its front ends saidbody portion is also provided with overlapping-ears 39 to prevent thefrictional contact of a match with the friction-surface 38 sliding orforcing the same off the frame 35. rear end said frame is provided withapertures 40, which are engaged by the ends of a hook 41. Aretraction-spring 42 or an equivalent is detachably or otherwiseconnected at its opposite ends to a cross-pin 43, connecting the upperends of the ears 7 of the base and said hook 41. When the spring is setfor operation, the upwardly-projecting arm 11 of the rock-shaft 10 is inthe path of the depending arm 35 of the frame 35, and therefore preventsthe same being moved by the action of said spring.

44 designates a match-holder of sheet metal, which engages theoppositely-disposed slots 6 of the sides 5 at the front end of the base,and

'said match-holder is bifurcated at its lower end to form the verticalarms 45 and 45 depending below the said base. The arm 45 is bent at itslower end to form the hook 4G, engaged by the transverse rod 47, pivotedat 48 to the lower end of the arm 45. At the lower end of said holder44, between the said depending arms, is formed the forwardlyprojectingflange 49, and centrally of said holder and just above said flange metalis stamped out to form the forwardly-projecting and vertical guide lug50. Near the upper end of the holder are'formed in asimilar manner theforwardly-projecting guide-lugs 51 and 52, 51 occupying a vertical planeat one side of lug 50, and 52 occupying a vertical plane at the oppositeside of said lug 50. At its upper end said holder is bent to form theforwardly-projecting horizontal flange 53, which terminates in theupwardly-projecting flange or shoulder 54. Said flange 53 is providedwith a slot 55 extending transversely of the base, and overhanging oneend of said slot in the plane of the upper end of the shoulder 54 is aflange 56, while overhanging the other end of said slot and in a higherplane than At its.

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the flange 56 is a flange 57. These flanges also are preferably formedby stamping them from the material of the holder.

When a short or parlor match is to be employed in connection with thedevice, the holder is detached from its position in the slot 6 and thematch is inverted and slipped to the position shown at 58 between thelugs and 51 and hearing at its upper end against the overhanging flange56 and near its head against the forwardly-projecting flange 49. Saidholder is then inserted to the position shown, where the head of thematch will be held in frictional contact with the frictionsurface of thesliding frame 35 by the approximately U-shaped spring 59, which bears atits free end down upon the cross-rod 47, and has its opposite endssecurely attached in any suitable manner to the approximately U-shapedplate 60, secured to the under side of the base, as shown most clearlyin Fig. 4. The pressure exerted by this spring will yield to anyirregularity that may exist in the friction-surface, so that the head ofthe match will not be broken off. It will be observed from the peculiarconstruction of the holder that it will be next to impossible to breakthe match, owing to its being braced from upward movement and fromlateral or pivotal movement in any direction, from pivotal movementlongitudinally by reason of the flange 49 at its lower end and the sidesof the slot atits upper end,and from pivotal movement sidewise orlateral movement bodily by the lugs engaging its opposite sides. When along or sulphur match is to be employed in connection with the device,it is inserted, as before described with reference to the match shown at58, between the lugs 50 and 52 and has its upper end bearing against theunder side of the overhanging flange 57. It also bears at a pointcontiguous to its head against the flange 49, as before described.

After the parts have been properly assembled, as illustrated, and theclock set for operation at, say, five a. m., the device is placed uponthe stove in any suitable or convenient manner, with its front end nearthe grate of the stove, so that a strip of paper or other inflammablematerial may project from said grate and be supported upon the cross-rod61, which bridges the space between the upper ends of and is attached tothe sides 5 in any suitable manner contiguous to the match. The saidpaper or other inflammable material preferably is nearly in contact withthe head of the match. When the clock automatically operates at the timeset in the morning and the arbor 27 begins to rotate, it winds up thecord 28 and breaks the alignment existing between the plates 12 and 14by pulling upward on the shoulder 17, and thus pivotally operating themupon the pivot 13 and changing the relation of said pivot to saidrockshaft. Immediately this takes place the pressure of the spring 20causes the rotation of said rock-shaft in the direction indicated by thearrow, Fig. 3, and forces said plates pivotally to the position shown indotted lines, same figure. Shortly after the alignment between saidplates has been broken, the book 29 becomes disengaged from the shoulder17, the plate 14, by reason of the notch 18, not interfering with thisdisconnection. It is obvious,however, that if the shoulder 17 of theplate 12 were formed a suitable distance above the plane of the upperedge of the plate 14, said plate would not have to be notched, though Ipreferthe construction shown. Simultaneously with the throwing of theplates to the position shown in dotted lines by the rock-shaft 10, thearm 11 of said rock-shaft moves down to a horizontal position andtherefore out of the path of the depending arm 35 of the slidingfriction-surface frame, and thus permits the spring 42 to retract and todraw or slide said friction-surface frame quickly to the position shownin dotted lines, Fig. 1. This action, as will be readily understood,causes the match to ignite and the paper or other combustible materialleading from the stove to take fire from the match. Therefore, it willbe seen that the fire will be properly and reliably started, and thehouse warmed to a certain extent, and water boiled or heated for use,without requiring the personal attention of the inmates of the house. Itwill be apparent, also, that it obviates the necessity of a personrising until the room hasbeen warmed to a degree and material preparedfor preparing breakfast in a short time.

It is manifest that a device of this character, which is positive andreliable, will be found of great utility in houses heated by stovesnecessary to be lighted each morning and not provided with hot'waterboilers, and may also be employed in other connections not necessary tomention herein. It is tobe understood, of course, that slight changes inthe form, proportion, or arrangement of the parts and in thesubstitution of equivalents will not be a departure from the spirit andscope or sacrifice any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is--- 1. An automatic firefighting device,comprising a match-holder, a sliding friction surface, a rock-shafthaving arms, one of them in the path of the friction-surface, and apivoted plate engaging the other, means for an tomatically moving theplate, a spring engaging said shaft, and a second spring which isanchored at one end and attached at the other tothe friction surface,substantially as set forth.

2. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a spring-actuatedfriction-surface, a match-holder, a rock-shaft having an arm in the pathof the friction-surface, a plate engaging another arm of the shaft,means for automatically moving said plate, and means to operate saidshaft when said plate is moved, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. An automatic fire-lighting device, co1nprising a spring-actuatedfriction-surface, a match-holder and a rock'shaft, all arrangedrelatively as described, a plate having a fixed pivot, a second plateprovided with a shoulder and pivoted to the first-named plate out IZC ofline with the rock-shaft, and pivoted also to an arm of said shaft, ahook engaging said shoulder, means to elevate said hook and therebypivotally operate said plates, and a spring to operate the rock-shaft,substantially as set forth.

4. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a base, having at itsfront end upwardly projecting slotted sides, asliding frictionsurfaceupon said base between said sides, a spring-actuated holder engaging theslots of said sides, and a match held rigidly thereby with its head inengagement with said friction-surface, and means to slide saidfriction-surface and ignite said match, substantially as set forth.

5. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a base provided at itsfront end with upwardly-projecting slotted sides, a verticalmatch-holder fitting in said slots and carrying rigidly amatch in aninverted position, a slidable frictionsurface upon said base betweensaid sides and in contact with the head of said match, a rock-shaft uponsaid base provided with an arm lying in the path of saidfriction-surface, a spring attached to said friction-surface andexerting its pressure against the arm of said rock-shaft, and amechanism also mounted upon said base which operates automatically at apredetermined time and permits said shaft to rock, and thereby permitssaid spring to move or slide said fric tion-surface, substantially asset forth.

6. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a suitable base, afriction-surface mounted thereon, a match-holder provided with a matchin engagement with said fric-' tion-surface, a rock-shaft upon said basehaving an arm at one end lying normally in the path of saidfriction-surface, and having a crank-arm at its opposite end,a spring toactuate said rock-shaft, a pair of plates pivoted together and one ofthem provided with a downwardly-disposed shoulder contiguous to saidpivot and at its opposite end pivotally connected to the said crank-armof the rockshaft, and the other plate pivoted at its opposite end to afixed point upon the base, and means at a predetermined time to breakthe joint between said plates by an upward pressure or pull upon thesaid shoulder of one of the plates to permit the rock'shaft to operate,and a spring connected to said friction-surface to move or slide thesame after the rockshaft has been operated and its first-mentioned armmoved out of the path of said friction-surface, substantially as setforth.

7. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a suitable base, afriction-surface mounted thereon, a match-holder provided with a matchin engagement with said friction-surface, a rock-shaft upon said basehaving an arm at one end lying normally in the path of saidfriction-surface, and having a crank-arm at its opposite end, a springto actuate said rock-shaft, a pair of plates pivoted together and one ofthem provided'with a downwardly-disposed shoulder contiguous to saidpivot and at its opposite end pivotally connected to the said crank-armof the rockshaft, and the other plate pivoted at its opposite end to afixed point upon the base, a time-operated mechanism, such as analarmolock, having a rotatable shaft,ahook enga ing the said shoulder ofone of said plates, a flexible connection, such as a cord, between saidhook and said rotatable shaft, and a spring for moving or sliding saidfriction-surface at the proper time,-substantially as set forth.

8. An automatic fire-lighting device, com prising a suitable base,having upwardly-projecting slotted sides at its front end, a crossrodconnecting said sides to support inflammable material from thecontiguous grate of a stove, a slidable spring-actuated friction-surfaceupon said base between said sides, a

match-holder engaging said slots provided with forwardly-projecting lugsto stay a match from lateral movement, with a flange at its lower endengaging the match contiguous to its head to prevent said match beingbroken, and with an overhanging flange to engage the upper end of thematch to prevent any upward movement of the same, aspring holding saidmatch-holder down with a yielding pressure, and a rock-shaft having anarm lying normally in the path of said slidable frictionsurface, andmeans to operate said rock-shaft and throw said arm out of the path ofsaid friction-surface, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. An automatic fire-lighting device, comprising a suitable base, havingupwardly-projecting slotted sides at its front end, a crossrodconnecting said sides to support infianr mable material from thecontiguous grate of a stove, a slidable spring-actuated frictionsurfaceupon said base between said sides, a match-holder engaging said slotsprovided with forwardly-projecting lugsto stay a match from lateralmovement, with a flange at its lower end engaging the match contiguousto its head to prevent said match being broken, and with an overhangingflange to engage the upper end of the match to prevent any upwardmovement of the same, arms depending from said holder below thesupporting base, a rod connecting said arms, a spring carried by saidbase at its under side and exerting a downward pressure upon said rod tohold the match yieldingly into engagement with said friction-surface,and means at times to automatically move or slide said frictionsurfaceand thereby ignite the match, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

10. In an automatic fire-lighting device, a match-holder, comprising aplate bifurcated at its lower end, a transverse shoulder 49, forwardlyprojecting lugs 50, 51 and 52, a horizontal slotted flange 53, flanges56 and 57, over-hanging the said slot, and a vertical flange 54, at thefront margin of the slotted flange, substantially as shown anddescribed.

11. In an automatic fire-lighting device, a match-holder, comprising aplate formed with forwardly-projecting lugs 50, 51 and 52, a shoulder49, a slotted flange 5 3, flanges 56 and 57, overhanging the slot ofsaid flange, and bifurcated to form depending arms 45 and 45, one ofwhich is bent to hook-form, and a rod 47, pivoted to the other arm andengaging the hook-arm, substantially as shown and described.

12. In an automatic fire-lighting device, a sliding friction-surface,comprising a plate 35, provided with runners 36, at its sides, and withinwardly-projecting ears at 37, its sides and one end, with a dependingflange 35, at the end provided with the ears, with apertures 40, at theopposite end, and with a piece of roughened material 38, upon said plateand CLIFTON T. UMSTED. Witnesses:

M. R. REMLEY, S. B. FALOR.

